Kilmarnock RFC
Encyclopedia
Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club, nicknamed Killie, is a Scottish rugby union
club which was founded in 1868, and is based in Kilmarnock
, Ayrshire
in west central Scotland. They play in RBS NATIONAL 1. Their ground is at Bellsland in Kilmarnock, and they were formerly based at Rugby Park
(hence its name).
One of the oldest rugby clubs in Scotland, Kilmarnock Football Club owes its existence to KRFC as an internal dispute about which football rules to adopt resulted in a breakaway in early 1869 by those who preferred to play Association Football.
When the Scottish National Leagues were introduced in 1973, Killie were, much to their annoyance, placed in the 3rd Division by the Scottish Rugby Union
. This was promptly won that season without loss. The following season saw Killie being runners up in Division 2, gaining promotion to the top league. They remained there until 1981 after which a period of promotion and relegation between the 1st and 2nd Divisions was the norm.
In 1978, Killie achieved their highest league position by finishing 3rd in Division 1. In 1986, Killie were the only team to beat the mighty Hawick
as they swept all aside to win yet another Championship.
Since the change in league structure to embrace professionalism, Killie have struggled to hold onto their better players and now languish in Division 2 of the BT National Leagues, effectively the old Division 5.
An interesting tale surrounds the first recorded use of air travel by a club when some players chartered a plane to fly to Jedburgh
to fulfil a fixture some 50 years ago. It is also likely that Killie took part in the first floodlit rugby match at Rugby Park
, now the home of Kilmarnock FC.
There is also a school of thought that South African team Transvaal
, now the Golden Lions
Super 14
team, adopted the famous Kilmarnock strip of white top with red hoop as a Kilmarnock member, Alex Frew
, captained them when they beat The British Isles touring team in 1903
. Frew was also a Scottish Internationalist whilst at Edinburgh University.
Kilmarnock had a reputation in the 1960s & 70s of producing top class seven-a-side
teams who won many tournaments in west central Scotland. This form was sadly never taken into the Border's Sevens Circuit in the 1970s & 1980s when Killie were a regular feature in all the most prestigious events.
More recent Kilmarnock 1st XV won promotion to RBS NATIONAL 1 for the first time in 20 years after a tough season in 2010/11.
Kilmarnock 3rd XV more commonly known as the Killie Polar Bears have won 3 consecutive league titles 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. They have been promoted to the RBS RESERVE LEAGUE WEST POD B making them the only 3rd XV in the division. Players from the Polar Bears age between 16 and 60 making it a great mix of age and fitness levels. Many of the younger players move on from the Polar Bears to the 2nd XV then the 1st XV.
At the end of the 2008/2009 season the Polar Bears had a end of season tour to Stornoway where a closely contested game was played only for the Polar Bears to get beaten by a last minute drop goal, all of the Kilmarnock players at the time were a bit under the weather after a heavy night of drinking before hand.
The Polar Bears have an annual end of season gathering known as the Hibernation Party, which takes place on the day of the Kilmarnock U18 7's tournament in May. All Polar Bears are expected to dress for the summer, the more ridiculous the better.
and Bill Cuthbertson. Andrew toured with the British Lions in 1924 to South Africa
while Bill was part of the 1984 Grand Slam winning team. Bill also played for Barbarian F.C.
while at Killie. Other players of note to have played for Killie include;
David Gibson, John Stewart and his brother Andrew Stewart all played for Scottish Colleges and Universities. Andrew Stewart was also captain of the Scottish under 18 Team; Andrew, who is now resident in New Zealand
, and a Professor of Sports Science, has also been involved with the fitness regime of the All Blacks
.
'Killie' also have numerous amount of younger aged teams who play in different leagues and will hopefully bring success to the club one day
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club which was founded in 1868, and is based in Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
in west central Scotland. They play in RBS NATIONAL 1. Their ground is at Bellsland in Kilmarnock, and they were formerly based at Rugby Park
Rugby Park
Rugby Park is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C..It underwent a major redevelopment in 1994–95, becoming an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128...
(hence its name).
One of the oldest rugby clubs in Scotland, Kilmarnock Football Club owes its existence to KRFC as an internal dispute about which football rules to adopt resulted in a breakaway in early 1869 by those who preferred to play Association Football.
History
KRFC’s long history has been one of varied success and interesting stories.When the Scottish National Leagues were introduced in 1973, Killie were, much to their annoyance, placed in the 3rd Division by the Scottish Rugby Union
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...
. This was promptly won that season without loss. The following season saw Killie being runners up in Division 2, gaining promotion to the top league. They remained there until 1981 after which a period of promotion and relegation between the 1st and 2nd Divisions was the norm.
In 1978, Killie achieved their highest league position by finishing 3rd in Division 1. In 1986, Killie were the only team to beat the mighty Hawick
Hawick RFC
Hawick Rugby Football Club is a semi-professional rugby union side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One and Border League. The team are based at Mansfield Park at Hawick in the Scottish Borders....
as they swept all aside to win yet another Championship.
Since the change in league structure to embrace professionalism, Killie have struggled to hold onto their better players and now languish in Division 2 of the BT National Leagues, effectively the old Division 5.
An interesting tale surrounds the first recorded use of air travel by a club when some players chartered a plane to fly to Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
to fulfil a fixture some 50 years ago. It is also likely that Killie took part in the first floodlit rugby match at Rugby Park
Rugby Park
Rugby Park is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C..It underwent a major redevelopment in 1994–95, becoming an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 18,128...
, now the home of Kilmarnock FC.
There is also a school of thought that South African team Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
, now the Golden Lions
Golden Lions
The Golden Lions is a provincial rugby team based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The team was originally known as Transvaal, before changes to the political landscape in South Africa forced a name change to the Gauteng Lions, before again being changed to the Golden Lions. For sponsorship reason...
Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
team, adopted the famous Kilmarnock strip of white top with red hoop as a Kilmarnock member, Alex Frew
Alex Frew
Alex Frew was a rugby union forward who played three tests for Scotland and one test for South Africa, captaining them on that one occasion. His club was Edinburgh University RFC-References:...
, captained them when they beat The British Isles touring team in 1903
1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1903 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fifth tour by a British Isles team and the third to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950....
. Frew was also a Scottish Internationalist whilst at Edinburgh University.
Kilmarnock had a reputation in the 1960s & 70s of producing top class seven-a-side
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
teams who won many tournaments in west central Scotland. This form was sadly never taken into the Border's Sevens Circuit in the 1970s & 1980s when Killie were a regular feature in all the most prestigious events.
More recent Kilmarnock 1st XV won promotion to RBS NATIONAL 1 for the first time in 20 years after a tough season in 2010/11.
Kilmarnock 3rd XV more commonly known as the Killie Polar Bears have won 3 consecutive league titles 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. They have been promoted to the RBS RESERVE LEAGUE WEST POD B making them the only 3rd XV in the division. Players from the Polar Bears age between 16 and 60 making it a great mix of age and fitness levels. Many of the younger players move on from the Polar Bears to the 2nd XV then the 1st XV.
At the end of the 2008/2009 season the Polar Bears had a end of season tour to Stornoway where a closely contested game was played only for the Polar Bears to get beaten by a last minute drop goal, all of the Kilmarnock players at the time were a bit under the weather after a heavy night of drinking before hand.
The Polar Bears have an annual end of season gathering known as the Hibernation Party, which takes place on the day of the Kilmarnock U18 7's tournament in May. All Polar Bears are expected to dress for the summer, the more ridiculous the better.
Notable players
Kilmarnock players to have been capped for whilst at the club include Andrew RossAndrew Ross (rugby union)
Andrew Ross was a Scottish rugby union player. He was killed in World War IHe played for Royal High School FP and was capped for in 1905-9.-References:...
and Bill Cuthbertson. Andrew toured with the British Lions in 1924 to South Africa
1924 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa was the tenth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950...
while Bill was part of the 1984 Grand Slam winning team. Bill also played for Barbarian F.C.
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
while at Killie. Other players of note to have played for Killie include;
- Niven Rose
- Hugh McHardy
- Ian Blake
- Derek StarkDerek StarkDerek Stark is a Scottish former footballer who played as a defender. Stark spent his whole career with Dundee United before retiring in 1984 due to injury. Stark, who played part-time for most of his time, considered quitting football in 1982 to join the police but remained at Tannadice to go...
- John Robertson
- Derek MartinDerek MartinDerek Martin is a British actor who is best known for his role as Charlie Slater in the British soap opera EastEnders which he played from 2000 to 2011.-Personal life:...
- Brian Gilbert
- John McHarg
- Gavin Angus
- Hugh Hamilton
- Stewart Porter
- Scott GrantScott GrantLieutenant General Sir Scott Carnegie Grant KCB is a former Quartermaster-General to the Forces.-Military career:Educated at The King's School, Pontefract, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Clare College, Cambridge, Scott Grant was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1965.He...
- Hugh Parker
- Dougie Smith
- David Gray
- Iain Coull
David Gibson, John Stewart and his brother Andrew Stewart all played for Scottish Colleges and Universities. Andrew Stewart was also captain of the Scottish under 18 Team; Andrew, who is now resident in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and a Professor of Sports Science, has also been involved with the fitness regime of the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
'Killie' also have numerous amount of younger aged teams who play in different leagues and will hopefully bring success to the club one day